BAGHDAD – Iraqi authorities say a suicide bomber has detonated his explosives belt inside a Shiite mosque south of Baghdad, killing 18 in the latest episode of violence to hit the troubled country.

Mayor Qassim Raheem of the town of Musayyib, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) south of the capital, said the bomber was linked to al-Qaida and took advantage of large crowds at a funeral for victims of a roadside bombing.